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Over-the-shoulder crosscourt drop technique

Hi guys,

I'm very interested in the over-the-shoulder stroke (in some places it's called step-out). You know, that stroke from the forehand rear corner at shoulder height. One has to step out with the racket foot pointing to the corner, lock the elbow, and perform the stroke.

From this position I can perform straight drop shots, and even have power enough to perform a deep straight clear. Unfortunately when it comes to crosscourt, I don't know the right technique. I guess a proper thumb grip should be used from this position, but since this grip will slice the shuttle, and the distance is so long, it seems to me somehow quite difficult.

If you still don't know what stroke I'm talking about, please check the introduction of this Badminton England video, around 0:33, and check out the girl in white on the upper side.

this requires some practice, as it is a no-look shot. if you do look at that corner you're aiming for, then you lose the advantage of surprise

step out and plant your racket foot, but you have to be early to the bird so that you have the option and threat of a straight clear. if you're late, then it'll become a desperate shot and your opponent will bring his base closer to the cover the net

the actual hit is a firm tap with the racket face aiming just a bit over your non racket shoulder

It's a fast sliced drop hit across the body. From where it is played in the example it is somewhat of a last resort shot. Some players often take the shuttle late in this corner, but by mixing up straight and cross drops you can keep your opponent guessing. If its taken late behind the body changing your grip would help achieve the slice

tactically, that's just a poor shot choice, and more of a hail mary attempt.
Even in your video example, it shows how ineffective even a well executed version of that shot is -- you're behind in the rally and execute a shot where your opponent can get it early and force you to run the full diagonal of the court, putting you in an even worse position (assuming you're fast enough to even retrieve the next shot)

if you wanna practice this shot, you should also practice the behind the back smash defense as well. It looks great, and is also in the same category of "oh crap, I'm going to lose this rally so let me try something dumb and hope I get lucky" type shot.

If you were serious about learning how to play better, your question would be to how to force your opponent deep into her forehand corner forcing a weak over-the-shoulder reply. LOL, this is the first time I've seen someone wanting to learn a shot that your opponent wants you to make, LOLOLOLOL.

urameatball is right. It's a desperate shot played when you're totally out of position. As in the singles example above, it won't work as well, but in doubles this shot if unexpected can cause confusion and may even win a point.

However, for utmost accuracy, please don't slice as in the example above. It'll be too high over the net and will be easily countered, which will put you in an even worse position as you'll have to cover the long diagonal.

This is not a trick shot, it is not in the same class as a behind the back shot. It is commonly best played with slice, allowing the shuttle to be hit harder. The player in the example takes it particularly late, and behind the body, but all the top players play the shot at times, if necessary. You should practice this shot since you may be forced to play it.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/KiNtfoTzSzs
I was just watching the LinDan & ChenLong match today and noticed that shot was played once...
at 18:29, See what happens when Chen Long gets pushed back and tries that shot, LOL

dlp, categorize it however you want, but when you're pressured back and forced to hit the bird from behind you, a cross drop is just dumb. Sure, you can sometimes get away with it... but then again, sometimes you can get lucky with a half court lob too

practice that shot all you want, but it won't fix the fact that your opponent is making you scramble for shots at the back of the court, and that you're playing a shot that allow your opponent to continue controlling the rally.
Or you can practice footwork and making wiser shot choices so you don't get pushed around by your opponent.

I may be biased though, a major weapon in my singles game is to pressure the opponent backcourt and wait to pounce on lazy drop shots like those. this thread already shows it working well against international players... now imagine how well it works against lower level players (hint: REALLY WELL)

Yes, I agree it's not an excelent attacking shot, but a defensive one. However you cannot just attack all the time against all rivals. In fact my thread should be something like "How to play and win like Lin Dan? Please help!", but I don't think anyone could help me with that

I mean a high slow clear to the center rearcourt is also a defensive resource, but does that mean that one doesn't need to practise it?

On the other hand, from that (bad) defensive position, I think it's one of the best defensive shots one can play, since the opponent very often fully commit to the straight drop reply. It's like the backhand: we all agree it's better not to play it, only when needed, but sometimes you're forced to, aren't you? Well, in that case very often I use to play a backhand crosscourt drop shot, and believe me, plenty of times I catch my opponent out of play since he/she is waiting the straight drop.

So in all IMHO: is that stroke a good attacking resource? NO. Is it a good defensive stroke? Definitely it's one of the best, again IMHO.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/KiNtfoTzSzs
I was just watching the LinDan & ChenLong match today and noticed that shot was played once...
at 18:29, See what happens when Chen Long gets pushed back and tries that shot, LOL

dlp, categorize it however you want, but when you're pressured back and forced to hit the bird from behind you, a cross drop is just dumb...

On that occasion the shot wasn't well executed--it was too slow and too high. I bet Chen Long would usually play a much tighter drop shot than that; he just made a mistake on this occasion. (Most people make at least one mistake per match.) I'm sure you could find matches where people get out of trouble with (a well executed version of) the exact same shot. Or are you telling us that the world number 3 and his coaches are dumb?

On that occasion the shot wasn't well executed--it was too slow and too high. I bet Chen Long would usually play a much tighter drop shot than that; he just made a mistake on this occasion. (Most people make at least one mistake per match.) I'm sure you could find matches where people get out of trouble with (a well executed version of) the exact same shot. Or are you telling us that the world number 3 and his coaches are dumb?

yup, the well executed version was what the original post illustrated, look what happened there, LOL. Again, it's a hail mary type shot. When you hit it, you hope god is on your side... and that your opponent has fallen asleep .

both those cases are regular shots hit above head height, but behind the body, and makes covering the full diagonal fairly easy.
the original post refers to shoulder height hits, which is performed when you're already in trouble in a rally, where hitting the cross with accuracy is hard enough, but covering the full diagonal even harder.